The Computing Research Association seeks a highly motivated individual to serve as a Deputy Director for the Computing Community Consortium. The Deputy Director works with the CCC Director, Council Members, and the CRA staff to ensure that the CCC succeeds in its mission: to serve as a catalyst and enabler for the computing research community, to provide mechanisms for the community to identify compelling research visions for the future of the field and to articulate those visions to key stakeholders. The Deputy Director provides backup to the Director in order to ensure that the CCC functions smoothly and effectively, and meets all of its contractual requirements in a timely and high-quality fashion. This […]

Last Thursday, Politico held an AI Summit: Innovation and Governance as “a global leadership gathering of policymakers, business leaders and experts for solutions-driven conversations on the impact of AI on governments, industries and society.” Some notable government participants included Representative Will Hurd (Texas), France Córdova (National Science Foundation), and Stacy Dixon (Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity). In his opening remarks, Hurd said that we need to “double down on basic research.”  The problem with basic research is that “often times it is hard to understand the return on investment of basic research. People believe the government should have the same returns as venture capital, private equity, but that’s just not possible. […]

On behalf of the National Science and Technology Council’s Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence, the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) National Coordination Office has released a Request for Information (RFI) on updates to the 2016 National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Strategic Plan. The 2016 National Artificial Intelligence Research & Development Strategic Plan focused on research areas that industry is considered unlikely to address and identified 7 strategies for Federally-funded AI research: Strategy 1: Make long-term investments in AI research. Prioritize investments in the next generation of AI that will drive discovery and insight and enable the United States to remain a world leader in AI. Strategy 2: Develop […]

The 6th Heidelberg Laureate Forum (HLF) has begun! Two hundred young researchers from 60 different countries have come to Heidelberg to learn from 33 Laureates. The event kicked off last night with a welcoming ceremony and dinner. The buzz on Twitter this morning, if you missed it, was about whether Sir. Michael Francis Atiyah had solved the Riemann Hypothesis (one of the Millennium Problems). Atiyah presented the Hypothesis and then in one brief slide showed his proof, which he claims solved the Hypothesis. Whether or not he did solve it, is up to our mathematician colleagues to tell us. None-the-less it was exciting to see a famous mathematician in his element. See the full video […]

I‘ve been blogging for the Computing Community Consortium (CCC) for over four years, but I‘ve never actually written in first person. So, hello. I’m Helen Wright, a biologist by training, but I’ve been working in computer science and science policy for over six years. I’m passionate about science communication and informing the scientific community about computing and how it can impact national priorities, cool research, and upcoming events. This fall, I’ve been given the unique opportunity to be a part of the upcoming Heidelberg Laureate Forum’s (HLF) international blog team. The Heidelberg Laureate Forum is an annual event held in Heidelberg Germany. Currently, in its 6th year, the HLF is […]

Ann Drobnis, CCC Director, contributed to this post.  One cannot get through the day without some acknowledgment of Artificial Intelligence (AI), whether it’s something in the news or a direct interaction with an AI system. However, as acknowledged by the White House (see quotes below), there is still much basic research to be done in the area. The Computing Community Consortium (CCC) is announcing a new initiative to create a Roadmap for Artificial Intelligence, led by Yolanda Gil (University of Southern California and President-Elect of AAAI) and Bart Selman (Cornell University). This is in support of the Administrations’ efforts in this area and will bring together academic and industrial researchers and federal […]